Quote:
Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!
And I also think it's a mistake to not look at your house as an investment. If you have so much money that it doesn't matter, then great. Don't look at it as an investment. But the reality is, it is an investment and not treating it as such will cost you for no reason.
|
If I have no intention of selling my house in the next 30 years, what good does treating my house as an investment do me? If the market drops 30 per cent in the next three years and then gradually picks up over 12 years back to its current valuation, that's no different to me than if it stayed steady the whole time.
I'm not selling. So the value of my house is irrelevant to me. If, owing to some unforeseen catastrophe, I'm forced to sell, I'll be buying into the same market for another house anyway. Having said that, if I was someone who didn't have kids, I would be postponing buying a house, or even selling now and renting or moving in with relatives for a couple years. A couple years of inconvenience and sub-optimal living conditions may end up saving you $50-80 thousand.
I have a younger co-worker who was looking to get into the housing market six months ago and the rest of my co-workers were encouraging her to buy now because housing is only going to get more expensive, when you pay rent your flushing money down the toilet, etc. etc. I was the only voice of caution. I even warned that the oil prices were likely to fall and the Calgary housing market would fall with it. The rest of my co-workers looked at me like I had three eyes. As I said, the irrational boom mentality is a remarkable thing. It can afflict even otherwise prudent and disciplined people.